Electric vehicles to up hiring speed in automotive industry

A closer look at India’s electric vehicles (EV) ecosystem shows that the sector is poised for 25 per cent increase in hiring in the next two years. EV, an innovative growing zone, will see a potential rise in job opportunities especially in segments like R&D, design, mechatronics and electrical/electronics, says Munira Loliwala.

The electric vehicles (EV) industry is making progress on all fronts to become one of the key sectors that will witness growth in the coming years. Emerging production trends such as hybrid electric vehicles, governmental support in the form of introduction of incentives and subsidies, increasing foreign competition, reformed tax structures, quality improvements are all aiding the growth of this segment in India. The government has also significantly increased spends on R&D and taken focused initiatives for developing road infrastructure, all of which is further augmenting the growth of the sector.

Further, multiple players both in the auto as well as non-auto segments are planning to foray into the segment. Even the ‘Interim Union Budget of 2019’ shared a vision of having 30 per cent EVs in the mobility mix by 2030. In fact Government of Delhi has allocated Rs 100 crore to the state electric vehicle fund. More states are now warming up to the importance of electric mobility in India and many tech driven start-ups are also venturing into this industry. With this progress at its crux, the young generation is at advantage to gain from the large employment opportunities expected in EV segment.

EV, an innovative growing zone, will see a potential rise in job opportunities especially in segments like R&D, design, mechatronics and electrical/electronics. Job roles in robotics programming and maintenance and embedded software engineers will see an increase in demand. Electrical/electronics engineer, automobile analytics engineer, 3D printing technicians, analytics, digital technologies/applications, IoT developers, etc will be some of the new potential job roles. Advanced skills to design, implement, monitor and manage “automation” are what will be needed from a talent perspective. Addition skills like cognitive, digital, systems thinking etc. are also essential to address the roles in the sector.

Another interesting aspect is that the sector will attract talent from multiple industries like IT, start-ups, mechatronics and electronics and robotics. This will not only create a shift in workforce but also disrupt salary and remunerations trends wherein pays scale for the new roles will change and multiply including additional perks, deputation to global destinations for trainings and research.

While job opportunities will continue to rise, the biggest hurdle is non-availability of ready talent. The next few years will be disruptive for the automotive sector wherein 60-65 per cent of new skill sets would be needed. It will be imperative to equip the workforce with the right skills. It is imperative that we introduce the right skilling and training methods to ensure that the workforce is adept to meet the requirements in the sector.

Apart from growth in manufacturing of electric vehicles, GST reduction in the EV segment and its charger/charging stations is encouraging faster mass adoption of EVs in our society. The evolution will be massive with more benefits coming the buyer’s way. It will also enable constant growth and developments in this sector. The primary role of government will be to allow for requisite value creation in an economy characterised by high volume and low value markets. Additionally, the government will have focused extensively on creating a strong charging network to ensure easy usage of the EVs. This growing thrust on building an infrastructure that will support the adoption will also lead to a surge in opportunities across the
EV infrastructure.

About the author:
Munira Loliwala is the Business Head – EMPI at TeamLease Services, one of India’s leading human resource companies offering a range of solutions to employers for their hiring, productivity and scale challenges.